BEIJING: Pets in China have become deeply woven into people’s lives and romantic relationships, especially those of younger couples.
When romance sours, deciding “who gets custody” is becoming a painful legal grey area for many couples.
According to pet industry data, China’s urban dog and cat population reached 126 million in 2025, driven largely by Gen Z and millennial.
Many young couples treat their pets like children, calling each other the “Mum” and “Dad” of their fur babies. “While love may fade, human-animal bonds rarely do,” one online user aptly wrote.
In recent years, posts pleading for help with post-break-up pet custody have flooded mainland Chinese social media. Desperate owners often ask how to legally retrieve a cat from an ex-partner or whether dog custody can be included in divorce agreements.
A legal vacuum complicates these disputes. Chinese pet law has historically focused on administrative management, while gradually placing greater emphasis on animal welfare.
However, under current law, pets are still classified strictly as personal property; there are no provisions for custody or visitation rights comparable to those for minor children.
Courts typically rely on purchase receipts, adoption records, microchip registrations and veterinary bills to determine ownership, but an owner’s emotional attachment is difficult to quantify legally.
In 2024, Shenzhen’s Futian District Court highlighted this divide when resolving a dispute over a dog nicknamed Kele, as reported by the Shenzhen Special Zone Daily.
A woman known as Xiaojia bought and raised Kele before temporarily leaving the dog with her boyfriend, Xiaohua, while she went abroad.
After they broke up, Xiaohua refused to return the dog, claiming that the time and money he had invested gave him the right to keep Kele.
The court disagreed, ruling that Xiaojia was the legal owner. Xiaohua’s expenses were deemed voluntary gifts between lovers, while temporarily caring for the dog did not transfer ownership.
Some pet custody battles have had more extreme consequences.
In Qingdao, northern China, a dispute between a couple over their two cats ended in tragedy, according to mainland media outlet Jizhou Studio.
During a heated argument, both partners tried to snatch the other’s cat. A woman then stabbed her boyfriend in the abdomen with a fallen knife.
She was later sentenced to three years in prison for intentional injury. In the chaos, one cat fled in terror and disappeared, while the other suffered severe stress.
For China’s younger generation, pets are no longer mere property; they are emotional anchors. This shift has helped fuel a sprawling pet economy projected to reach 405 billion yuan (US$60 billion) by 2028.
From Shanghai’s viral “pet kindergarten,” which charges 98 to 138 yuan a day for fitness courses and daytime socialisation, to traditional Chinese medicine treatments such as acupuncture and tui na massage for pets, owners spare no expense. Pet grief services, including cremations and personalised memorial ceremonies, are also booming.
As pet culture evolves faster than the legal framework, some online observers are urging couples to plan ahead.
“Pets are not a sofa or a TV; they are living beings with memories and feelings,” one social media commentator noted. “Couples should agree on custody upfront to protect these animals from unnecessary pain.”
For others, informal co-parenting remains an option.
As one pet owner shared online: “My ex-boyfriend comes over every weekend to visit our dog, Wangzai, who gets so happy to see his dad. Just like humans, Wangzai is simply a child who can’t speak.” - South China Morning Post
